This week I'm getting back on the meal-planning wagon after two weeks of traveling and settling into our new home. Honestly, I'd happily continue eating makeshift meals of sandwiches, takeout, and frozen pizza in an effort to avoid cooking amongst the half-packed boxes, but alas, with school starting back this week we need our routine up and running again.

So here's the deal with this week's meal plan: It's a collection of five super-simple recipes I love and am relying on to get my meal planning mojo back in a flash.

I'm a firm believer that make-ahead dinners are one of the very best gifts you can give to your future self. Walking into the kitchen at the end of the day knowing that dinner is prepped, cooked, and just waiting to be reheated feels like a real treat. And not only that, but dinners like chili and braised meats also taste better a day, even two or three, after they're made.

From slow cooker chicken burrito bowls to red lentil soup, these are our 10 most popular make-ahead dinners.

The chances that you're attending a barbecue or potluck of sorts this weekend are likely, given that it's the final hoorah before the summer unofficially comes to a close. When there are hamburgers and hot dogs in order, there of course needs to be a few other items to round out the meal. Here are 20 that take no time at all to make, which means if you're tasked with bringing a side dish the morning of the party, you can assemble one without breaking a sweat.

Earlier this year, I traveled to the volcanic island of Iceland to explore its famously dramatic landscapes. Besides natural wonders like ice caves and geysers, I learned the country also has plenty to offer when it comes to culinary delights like fresh seafood, grass-fed meats, and rich dairy products.

The most well-known of these dairy products is skyr, that cultured dairy product with a creamy texture and tart flavor. I had tossed a few containers into my grocery cart while perusing the yogurt section over the years, but I didn't fully understand skyr's important role in Icelanders' daily life until I visited the country.

With summer sadly coming to a close, we thought it'd be appropriate to share these super-beachy kitchens. While they're total eye candy and fun to look at, they also might help you keep a summery state of mind year-round.

Steal some of these fun touches — even if you live miles from the ocean — and you just might forget that temperatures are about to drop, drop, drop.

Somewhere along Interstate 95, in the middle of Virginia, the pun-laden signs began. I sat shotgun, alongside my father, in our Dodge Caravan. It was the summer of 1989, and nine of us, including my father's sister and her family and a cousin on my mother's side — all visiting from India — were en route from central New Jersey to Orlando, Florida. This was our family's first trip to states south of Washington, D.C.